Fern sat at the entrance of the cave, sipping tea one by one, and although it was frequent, he put down the teacup every time his lips were moistened, just to pass the boring time and not let himself fall asleep. After being pulled back from the death line by Niss, the mercenary seemed to have recovered from the fatigue of the previous battle, and now he was the most mentally active of all, so he volunteered to keep a vigil for everyone, so that even Quai would not have to waste mental energy to cast enchantment magic.

Moses and Stan snore one after another, and Fern suspects that he will not be able to sleep if he does not keep vigil, and only a tired person can sleep in such a loud snoring, and it is clear that Fern is not tired.

As before, Fern wore Ness's cloak, his garment cut a flat notch in his chest by Elonhan, and the cold wind could have penetrated his garment almost effortlessly without the cloak. The mercenary suddenly remembered something, searched for something in the inner pocket of his clothes, and then took out a piece of blood-stained parchment from it with a relaxed expression, thinking about whether to open it.

"It looks like you've had really serious injuries before. Quiai's voice rang softly in his ears, and he didn't even notice that the mage had woken up, or that she hadn't slept at all. At this time, her long brown and yellow hair was messily draped over her shoulders, and strands of hair were scattered on the side of her face. A scent of roses greeted the mercenary, and Quiai sat down beside him.

Fern felt his heart beat faster, which was normal, any normal man would have his heart pounding even if he looked at Quiai from a distance, let alone be so close to her. "Yes, I'm almost dead, or rather, dead. ”

"You're not dead, Fern, no matter how powerful magic is, it can't be brought back to life, of course, those monsters who have been resurrected by evil magic can't be counted, they are not human at all. In the silence of the night, Fern suddenly noticed that Quiai's voice was actually very good, like the sound of the wind chimes hanging at the door of the Queen's Favor when the wind blew them, and he was surprised that he had never paid attention to the string of wind chimes, although it had been hanging there since before the mercenaries knew Rod.

Well, maybe I'm homesick, if Deville is my home. And that guy Rhodes, or, should I call him Barred. Fern's mind had drifted back to Deville, and his mission was almost complete, and he thought that Ness would return to the Mage Tower, and Quiai might go back to the Mage Tower, or to Dulus, and Stan should go back to Doyle, and Ray, he didn't know where she would go, he had never touched her heart, and strangely, he hadn't thought of a thousand gold coins at all.

"Thank you, Quiai, I have read your letter carefully, and I have not missed a word. Fern hesitated to say this, he had to admit that Queai probably had the same affection for him as he did for Ness, and although they had known each other for a much shorter time than Ness, sometimes time didn't say anything.

Queay stopped arranging her hair and waited for Fern to take the next step, and she could tell she was nervous as her breathing suddenly lightened.

Fern took another sip of tea. "You and Ness are so good, I'm not going to drag either of you down. With that, the mercenary stopped talking.

Apparently Quiai had expected Fern to say more, and waited until the two were silent for a long time before realizing that the mercenary had finished speaking. "Is that what you're trying to say?" the mage continued to straighten his hair. "In Dluth, even those drunkards who only drink in taverns all day can say more than you. ”

Fern didn't dare to turn his head to look at Queai, for he was afraid that he would say more than the drunkards when he saw her charming eyes. "Aren't you going to go back to sleep?"

"I can't sleep, I'm going back to the Mage's Tower, and until then, I need your answer. Quiai tied her hair tightly into a bun with thin threads.

Fern subconsciously glanced at Quiai, and the girl sat upright with her hands up and her hair curled up, making the mercenary dizzy. "My answer has already been said, I will not choose any of you. ”

Queai sighed, but didn't show any disappointment. "At least that's not the worst answer, I was going to hear you say Ness, but at least for now...... You don't have a choice. ”

"Does it make a difference?" said Fern frowned, he had never been a good person at dealing with girls.

"Of course there's a difference, Fern, you don't understand anything. Quiai took the parchment from Fern's hand and slowly opened it, most of the handwriting inside was blurred with blood. "It seems that my letter still has some effect, and you can keep it all the time, which shows that you have not let go of me in your heart. ”

Fern raised an eyebrow, he didn't realize it himself. "You should probably choose one of the nobles of Dluth that suits you, Hesey must be worried about your age. ”

Quiai's cheeks twitched. "Fern, you don't understand a girl's mind at all. She returned the parchment to Fern and leaned against the wall. "Will you go back to Deville?"

"Yes. Fern picked up a piece of wood from the fire, and some sparks flew up.

"Can I go to you, when I'm done with everything at the Mage Tower. Queay's positivity always baffled Fern, who wanted to give her an affirmative answer, but didn't know what he was hesitating about.

"Of course, have you been to Deville? I can show you around, there are still many differences between it and Deluth. At least this time he was quick to give a positive answer.

"I've never been, Fern, and I'd love you to be my guide, it's rare for a mage to run all of Wallis like you. Quiai smiled slightly, quite satisfied with this reply.

"But are you coming alone? you have to be careful along the way, like you...... A beautiful mage is no less attractive to the robbers on the road than a carriage full of gold, without any guards beside her. Fern paused, feeling that his analogy was a little inappropriate. "You...... "Don't blame me, any man who talks so close to Quiai would be incoherent.

"Then why don't you come and pick me up at the Mage's Tower? we can play all the way from Chavanna to Deville, and then we can go to Serendra, where I've always heard that the rainforest can wet people from head to toe three times a day. The more he spoke, the more excited he became, and he had completely forgotten that there were several people asleep on one side.

Fern hesitated. "I guess, yes, I'll pick you up, but, well, you know, Ness will be in the Mage Tower too. "Hell, how do I look like a scumbag who is worried about the discovery of his adultery. "I don't know if I should do it or not. ”

"Believe me, Fern, Ness will definitely not have the extra energy to pay attention to you when she returns to the Mage Tower this time, I didn't deliberately hit you, she obtained three holy seals, and successfully completed this trial that even a formal mage can't complete, she will definitely be taken care of by the Mage Tower." Quiai poured himself a cup of hot tea. "And she's the most potential elemental in hundreds of years, and the responsibility that falls on her shoulders is not light. ”

Fern glanced at Ness, who was still asleep, and suddenly realized how her slender shoulders could carry such a heavy load. "She's just a child, why should she endure so much?"

"Those archmages don't care so much. Quiai suddenly put down the teacup on his lips. "What did you just call her, child?"

"Isn't she a kid compared to Adeline's men? Fern didn't see anything wrong.

"But you didn't call us that. Quiai continued to drink his tea. "Maybe the unintentional title says a lot about your attitude towards Ness, you just want to protect her, not ...... You know what I mean, Fern?"

The mercenary shook his head, he really didn't understand.

Quiai sighed. "I said, Fern, you don't understand anything. ”

It was past midnight, the darkest hour before dawn, but the cave was bright, and the stars and aurora illuminated the earth as if it were day.

"You better go to sleep, you have to travel continuously for the next few days, and I can keep vigil alone. Fern had heard Queai yawn no lesser than five times.

"Well, I'm really tired, are you sure you don't need me with you?" asked Quiai, who was clearly not prepared to hear a negative reply.

Fern just nodded, wrapping Ness's cloak tightly, the scent of gardenias and roses on the cloak blending. Oh, what did I just say to Quiai?

Queai quickly leaned over to Fern's cheek and gently pressed his lips to the mercenary's left cheek, the scent of roses overpowering the scent of gardenias. "Remember, Fern, I will always wait for you, even though it may never come to fruition, but, you know, I never left. The girl whispered in his ear.

Queai had fallen asleep, and Fern leaned feebly against the wall. Seven gods, I'd rather face two demons than two of them.